Yea i was thinking that the key to tonights game is rebounds too. But i know that since houston is small Eddie Jordan will play follow the leader and play our small lineup the majority of the game. Which is why we probably will not win the rebound game and are going to have to fight to pull out a victory

Interesting, my feeling is that the Sixers matched up better with the Rockets when they had McGrady and Yao healthy -- in recent years, those two really struggled on defense. Iguodala had one of his best games of the season being guarded by McGrady last year. With the current no-name Rockets roster, I don't see a single matchup that the Sixers can exploit among the starters (Brand vs. Scola might be the closest). I hope I'm wrong, but it's looking like a double-digit loss tonight ...

I just think playing the right lineup infuriates him. This is the same guy who said that the detriot game was a break out game for Elton Brand. I guess he didn't see the 5 other games Elton played better than he did in detroit. All he knows are three's if its not a "small" shooting a jumpshot then its a horrible shot for EJ

Same crap, different game. Blow this roster up already. We all tend to overvalue our own players. If there are any that think this 'core' will be contending in however many years, hate to dampen the outlook but it is nothing but a pipe dream.

The damn starters are just as lethargic as the bench. Two games in a row where they just go through the motions and come out flat in the 3rd quarter. No pride, no heart, and definitely no leadership.

EB with a timely o-board, but why in the hell does he seem so not confident that he can just go straight back up? Consistently pump-faking so many times - just giving the defenders a chance to recover and collapse. It has to be mental, has to be.

And what do you know, a meaningless three from Dala at the buzzer that goes.................clank!

They won't win much more than 25 with a new coach and this same exact roster though. This may have seemed like the same team from last year because a few parts carried over, but it is missing crucial parts - on AND off the court. The coach may need changing but the personnel has to change too.

It may be as drastic as another trade your best player and get better trade. I love the guy and what he gives, because every successful team needs someone to do that, but it is just something about his on-court demeanor (or lack thereof) that doesn't suffice. Really can't pinpoint it, but dude just has issues, and they are pretty consistent.

He would be the chip with the most value - and free up big money just like when Allen was sent packing.

Why are you speaking in riddles? Iguodala is very easily the best of a bad bunch, and yeah, I don't like his on-court demeanor either, he's hardly the picture of a team leader/go-to guy/franchise player, but it's not his fault that he's forced into that role. If we had never spent money on Brand we could've afforded a real franchise guy.

I don't see entitlement. I see a guy who works hard in the summer, who plays unselfish basketball and plays both ends and who is the best player on the team by a comfortable margin.

How do you get entitlement? Is there somebody else that deserves that spot that 3 different coaches have encouraged him to take, especially since all 3 have said at different times that they want him to be MORE aggressive, not less.

Does he complain to the refs a bit too often, sure. Can he be better about correcting his teammates in public, sure.

Yeah, that's the place to start - if you want to keep going in circles. You know, being happy with roughly 45 wins on a yearly basis. It will not matter what coach is brought in to coach this roster - they will not be a contender.

My coach comments have been taken as defensive of him, when it was nothing more than the chance given.

But the coach is the trees, blinding you from the other organizational indescretions.

Following your own logic, the coach is a smoke screen making it impossible to properly gauge what pieces are worth keeping. You want to make wholesale changes based on the idiotic decisions this guy is making.

I don't think anyone here is saying the roster is perfect, what we are saying is that this ridiculous system is (a) making them worse than they actually are and (b) completely obscuring any chance to get an accurate feel for this roster's strengths/weaknesses and there's no way they're going to be able to properly assess what they have and what they need as long as this guy is coaching the team.

You're doing a fine job of trying to talk in circles here, but your point has consistently been that the play we're seeing on the court is not Eddie Jordan's fault, it's management's fault for putting this roster together. The implication being that ANY coach stuck with these guys would have a 5-18 record right now and be playing some of the worst defense we've ever seen. That's just bullshit.

For whatever reason you have a raging hard on for this guy and you spend all your time either grasping at straws looking for something other to blame other than the obvious cause for this shit play, or deflecting blame onto the players. It's tiresome.

As I said below, I'm past placing blame. My argument runs so much deeper than that.

But first, my wholesale changes have absolutely nothing to do with the friggin' coach's decisions. It has to do with the body of work I have seen over a period of time with these players they have assembled and put together.

You're so busy trying to pass judgment and pass rule on "someone's point" amidst your own frustrations, that you often bypass the overriding message. Get off the zoned-in-blame mindset.

What we've seen from these players, who you seem to loathe so much, is over-achievement for three straight seasons from a young roster. We've seen continued development. Up until Jordan got here, they had improved consistently ever since Iverson's departure. So when they go from a .500 team, and really more than that if you factor in missing Brand for the entire season last year, to the laughing stock of the league, yes I'm looking to blame someone and you should be as well.

In no way do I loathe the players, I loathe the collection and fit of the players.

And whether we win 5 to 8 games more than .500 each year, or show development from the youngins, so what? If you are not amongst the few elite with a chance at the title, and your core personnel as currently constructed won't come close to getting you there, and you're in csp purgatory for at least 3-4 more years, blame can't just be placed singularly.

Tiresome? Tell me you just didn't say that. If you are tiresome of an alternative viewpoint, whether agreed or not, you have to be totally exhausted at the ink and thought given to the chosen one. Seriously.

You are absolutely right. Andre Miller is the difference between a .500 team and a .217 team. He's the difference between the #14 defense and the #29 defense. Missing Miller and his stellar on-the-ball defense is the reason the Sixers are well on their way to setting the record for worst three-point defense in the history of the league. Oh, I forgot about Miller's "leadership" and how he took all these young players under his wing, worked out with them all summer and was such a great locker room guy.

He's such a great leader Portland's had enough of him after 22 games and they're looking to trade him.

You know, eventually you'll get around to blaming everyone but Jordan for this mess.

Changing when translated into moving the best player for no real legit reason is just wrong, especially when the majority of the responsibility rests with the coach who is simply performing to his history.

I missed this discussion last night but feel compelled to share my opinion and add some data. In the last 20 years, NBA titles have been won by only 7 coaches. Jackson 10, Popovich 4 Daly 2 Tomjanovich 2 and Brown and Rivers 1 each. I suggest that this argues that having a "Hall of Fame" quality coach is as important as having a "superstar". From that, I suggest that recycling experienced, mediocre coaches is an exercise in futility. If a coach does not produce after a year or two with a decent, team, give a new guy a chance. The Sixers question should be "Who is the next Jackson, Riley or Popovich. (The coach statistics hold if you go back further and include all of Riley's titles and look at Auerbach.) In all 47 titles have been won by the 12 coaches with multiple titles and only 16 by coaches who have won just one time. Forget about the hundreds of other s who have coaced and not even one one title.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_championship_head_coaches#Coaches_who_won_a_NBA_Championship_.2828.29

How long before the media and/or fans turns on Jordan or Stefanski if this continues? This may be the year we get a high lottery pick but, other than Wall, who else is a franchise potential talent? If this were the Flyers, Jordan and Stefanski would be done already.

Jrue (an ugly) 8:15 with no 2nd half minutes. I'm guessing we see 5X more minutes combined for Green and Iverson from here on out (50min to 8 tonight.)- because Green and Iverson are so important to this teams past... I mean future (:

I was trying to watch how Houston ran its offensive sets given they run a version of the Princeton Offense. Also tried to watch how they played defense, since their assistant, Elston Turn was a candidate for the coaching job.

Actually, no. They canned Cheeks because they believed, like 99% of the world, that they had assembled a group capable of contending, or at least headed in that direction, and Cheeks failed to integrate Brand into the offense, or vice versa.

This game reminded me of the Bulls loss earlier this season. The Sixers jump out to a huge early lead (27-10 after 9 minutes.) Then they start smiling and congratulating themselves for their intensity... and next thing you know they lose.

Clear signs of a young team without leadership. Their leaders are Iguodal- who sulks, Brand who has always played on losers, AI who is AI and Eddie Jordan.

It actually went downhill earlier than that. They got off to an 18-6 start in the first 7:10 of the game, then Primoz Brezec and Willie Green entered the game and Houston scored 13 points in the final 4:50 of the first quarter.